Offices/Conference Rooms
A very important factor in choosing suspended ceilings for offices is acoustics. If it is not sound absorbing, ceiling acts like a mirror and reflects sound. People speaking together are heard from afar. The dividing screens are not efficient in terms of sound reduction because the sound waves avoid such obstacles by reflecting off of the ceiling. The addition of multiple conversations creates a high and tiring background noise. It is difficult to draft a letter or an important memo if you can her every word of conversation taking place in the next office. In partitioned offices, noise originating from areas close by, have to be attenuated and the sound absorption for an individual office has to be achieved. In open-plan offices, the problem is how to convert noise (ringing telephones, conversations and so on) into an indiscreet background sound.
In conference rooms, the aim is to ensure intelligible speech without creating a “lifeless” environment. When office buildings are designed, the long term durability is of prime importance. Durable ceiling tile edges ensure that when the tiles need to be removed for service maintenance or cleaning, the risk of tile damage is minimised. As a result the original ceiling appearance is maintained ensuring that the company can continue to offer a modern, pleasant working environment.
Lighting, speakers, air conditioning, ventilation, smoke detectors are essential components that can be incorporated into the ceiling in order to offer complete occupier comfort.
The Armstrong i-ceilings range of sound panels utilises the revolutionary new loudspeaker technology NXT. Unlike conventional ‘cone’ speakers which operate with a piston-like action, NXT technology introduces resonant vibrations to the entire surface of a lightweight flat panel via an electronic transducer system.In effect, the panel within the ceiling is vibrating in much the same way as a piano or acoustic guitar. Like these musical instruments, new technology i-ceiling panels generate highly diffuse and disperse sound energy (similar in nature to the light emitted from a fluorescent lamp). Sound, therefore, is radiated in all directions to ensure highly intelligible voice and music reproduction and even sound density over the area covered. This is very different to the results of a conventional piston-like cone speaker, which can cause highly directional and often unintelligible speech in large open spaces.
Using i-ceilings in conference facilities to ensure effective communication, throughout the workplace to deliver highly intelligible public address, improved levels of clarity for voice alarm applications, reduced microphone feedback during presentations and background music in reception areas to welcome clients to your company, will add value to the complete corporate experience. The discrete combination of i-ceilings Sound systems with Armstrong ceiling times provides a seamless finish to an environment where holes in ceilings and black box speakers are wholly undesirable.
International studies show that 72% of workers are dissatisfied with their speech privacy, 59% of employee time is spent attempting quiet, focused work in ones’ own workplace and 70% of office workers said they could be more productive in a less noisy office environment.Sound masking is a precise background ‘noise’, generated through an i-ceilings system, which blends unobtrusive into the acoustic and aesthetic environment to cover or ‘mask’ unwanted and distracting noises. The result provides an even dispersion of a shaped masking noise, disrupting the intelligibility of surrounding conversations, creating a less distracting environment. Thus an environment where employees are more productive and more effective is created.
Further details about the type of false ceilings most appropriate for different areas of your office may be found here.